12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

The decade of 1950s is marked with some of the major scientific innovations such as the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA and the launch of Sputnik I, which started the Space Race.

It also happens to be a decade that greatly improved our lives and here are some of the innovations from the ‘50s that we still use today.

Source: Buzzfeed.com

Credit Card

Year: 1950

Though the concept of credit card existed since 1930s, the founders of Diners Club - Ralph Schneider and Frank McNamara - expanded the the idea of customers paying different merchants using the same card in 1950.

Mass usage, however, started in 1958 when Bank of America launched the BankAmericard in California.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

It was developed taking inspiration from the ball-point pen and the product was called Ban Roll on.

The first commercial deodorant, called Mum, was developed and patented in 1888 by an inventor in Philadelphia. This company was later bought over by Bristol-Myers in 1931. A marketing executive from the company, Edward Gelsthorpe, decided to market a deodorant based on the newly invented ball-point pen.

Aerosol deodorants came much later in 1960s when Gillette launched the Right Guard. They became popular because they could dispense without coming in contact with the users, and soon started replacing the roll-ons.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

Though colour televisions were available since 1953, viewers got to see only a few hours of colour programmes. The TV set was also expensive compared to the black and white one.

According to Wikipedia, in 1964 only 3.1 per cent of television households in the US had colour set.

It was only after the cost came down and more and more broadcasters started colour programming the sales of colour TV picked up. In 1972, for the first time the sale of colour sets crossed over the black and white ones.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

Found commonly at the entrance and exits of supermarkets and airport terminals, these doors eliminate the need for a person to open or close the door by turning a door knob.

Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt co-invented the automatic sliding doors after they saw that the existing swing doors were difficult operate during strong wind. They commercialised it through Horton Automatics.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

Switzerland-based George de Mestral first conceived the hook-and-loop fastener while returning from a hunting trip in the Alps. He noticed that seeds of burdock kept sticking to his coat and on his dog’s fur. When observed under a microscope, he saw the hundreds of hooks that had caught anything with a loop.

After 10 years of trying to commercialise it, Mestral was finally granted a patent in 1955.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

Two inventors - Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes - were attempting to create a 3-dimensional plastic wallpaper. Although the idea was a failure, they found that it did make for great packing material and bubble wrap came into existence.

12 innovations from the 1950s that we still use today

This popular meal in the US was developed by C.A. Swanson & Sons, who was able to cleverly market it by using its nationally-recognised brand name with an extensive national marketing campaign.

The originality of the concept is however disputed. Earlier to Swanson’s TV Dinner, William L. Maxson's frozen dinners were being served on airplanes. Also, the first frozen dinners on oven-ready aluminium trays were introduced by Quaker States Foods under the One-Eye Eskimo label, according to Wikipedia.

Image: A 1950s-style TV dinner. This type of meal was common until the mid-1980s.Photographs: Smile Lee/Wikimedia Commons